Life Uninterrupted

Moving Forward

Sunday October 25, 2020

Indianapolis, IN

Early afternoon

XEENIA

Utilizing the Bluetooth on my iPhone 11 Pro, I hurriedly put my AirPods in my ears to catch the call that was interrupting me from packing for my vacation. If I had ignored the generic ringtone I set for unknown callers, I may have missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime!

"Hello?" I answered breathlessly, connecting my phone to its charger cord. No matter the length of my phone calls, my phone needed to stay on life support for every conversation to avoid running out of power before the end of the call.

"Miss Xeenia Xavier?"

Immediately, I recognized the perky tone that emanated from the hiring manager who had interviewed me for a high-end travel advisor position that I had applied for. I was, however, surprised that she was calling me on a Sunday morning.

"Yes!" I replied confidently, putting the last of my toiletries into my suitcase before closing it.

"Hello, Ms. Xavier. Cheryl Newsome calling from Live Your Best Life Travel Agency. I hope I'm not interrupting your day."

Chuckling, I admitted, "Actually I'm packing for my vacation."

"In that case, I'll make this brief. I am calling to ask you a question." After a brief pause, Ms Newsome asked, "How soon can you start?"

Struggling to hold my excitement, I replied, "Three weeks from today."

I planned to send my two weeks' notice to my current employer by email before I left for my five-day birthday cruise this afternoon, returning from my 14-day vacation just to pack up my office and leave that dead-end job that I had grown to call "PayHell".

Stepping out on faith with over 30 years of customer service and hospitality experience coupled with my online presence, I applied for a remote travel advisor position although I didn't have the educational certifications my future employer requested in their posting on their job search website.

The day I applied, they called me to schedule my interview the next day followed by a second interview two days later.

In less than a week, I found a PayJob with better EVERYTHING: working from home, flexible work hours, awesome benefits, and a salary that doubled my current one!

"Great! That will be at the beginning of the pay period. You'll get paid weekly within two weeks from the day you start. Of course, you're more than welcome to begin sooner, Ms. Xavier," stated my future boss, Ms. Cheryl Newsome. "One of the perks of working with Live Your Best Life Travel Agency: you can work anywhere, any time."

Smiling to myself, I said, "I'm giving my two weeks' notice today then I'm taking a birthday cruise to celebrate my birthday. When I return from my vacation, I'll be getting prepared to leave my current PayJob to come and work for you."

Giggling, Ms. Newsome asked, "I'm sorry but what is a PayJob?"

Oh my God! Did I say that out loud?

Chuckling nervously, I explained, "It's a term I made up. A PayJob is an employer that pays you enough to stay just over broke. You can pay your bills but you're barely enjoying your life."

"Just over broke, huh?" laughed Ms. Newsome. "Well, here at Live Your Best Life Travel Agency, with your background and online personality, I'm sure you'll stay well above 'just over broke' and you'll love working with us! Just so you know, you can start anytime but if we have to wait, we'll see you in three weeks. Early happy birthday and safe travels, Ms. Xavier!"

Smiling to myself, I replied, "Thank you, Ms. Newsome!"

As we ended the call, I looked around at my tastefully decorated master bedroom. I had no desire to have a roommate or a live-in lover as I had come to appreciate my solitude. For three decades, my life consisted of being a good soldier in the Rat Race, solely going from home to work with little time for a social life. With this new position, I would have more free time for myself as well as the opportunity to spend more time with my men and my girls.

For nearly a decade, my employer monopolized my life. If it hadn't been for my three Gentlemen Loves refusing to let me disappear into work, I probably would've stayed trapped there.

Each of my Loves knew my full history so they understood that I am polyandrous, fiercely independent, and ambitious.

There will never be just one man in my life and my heart.

And I was blessed to find three partners that love me with no jealousy and encourage my freedom.

"It's time to shake the cobwebs off and get back out there," I told myself as I admired the image reflected at me in my full-length mirror. "Thankfully, I have three lovely gentlemen who hate to see me cooped up in this condo." Walking out my bedroom with the last of my luggage, a smirk spread across my lips. "Assuming the stars are in alignment, there's a chance I'll see one of my Loves after my trip!"

Or possibly all three of my Loves...

After setting my suitcase next to my small carry-on bag at the bottom of my staircase, barely looking at the keys on my cell phone, I dialed my high school bestie, Luna Antinanco.

"Giiiiirl!"

Squealing, Luna cheered, "You got the job!"

"I got the damn job, Girl!" I laughed as I sat at the foot of the chaise lounge section of my sofa. "I start in three weeks! They said I can start sooner if I like and I just might depending on how Chuckie takes the news that I'm jumping ship!"

"Girl, fuck him and his whole shady racket! Let him drown for not appreciating that you ran his company better than he did. Look, let's rock this boat before you lock yourself into someone else's dream!" Luna giggled. "I'll be so glad when you..."

"I know, I know. Follow my own dreams instead of living in Society's bad habit of creating proletariats. And I will when I can afford to," I frowned as I realized how long I had procrastinated to become an entrepreneur in the entertainment industry. Financially, I was close but I allowed fear of failure to slow me down. "Give me a year or less and I'll be my own boss."

"Pinkie pwomise?" Luna asked in her baby voice, knowing how much I hated hearing it.

"Pinkie promise," I replied seriously. "The only one stopping me is me. I put my dreams on pause for them simply because they said they wanted to help make my dreams come true and they all broke that promise. I always make more progress when I'm not focusing my energy on working for others."

"And since you're content with your current relationships, now is the best time to get to work on working for yourself. I bet you'll come back from our cruise with a whole game plan to keep you from setting foot in any other PayJob!" Luna hinted.

"Lu, when I go on vacation, the LAST thing I'll be doing is WORKING, let alone thinking about work!" I chuckled. "However, as a birthday present to myself, before my NEXT birthday, I will launch my luxury travel company!"

"Amen and HALLELOO!!" Luna and I cheered together.

"I should be there shortly. I'm taking some food over to Lucas before he drops me off over there. He's gonna keep Sheila while I'm gone," Luna said as I heard her preparing to leave her home. The sound of the disgruntled meowing of her cat, Snowball, decreased as she approached her car.

"Feeding him is fine but as his godmother and your best friend, I have to advise against you leaving your car with your 19-year-old son if he's not on your insurance. Or better yet, if he is on it, I hope he's helping you pay for it. He's never going to learn to live independently if he's still depending on his mommy to take care of everything," I warned.

"You wouldn't say that if you had..." As Luna's voice trailed off, I knew she regretted what she was about to say as she had said more than enough. "Xee, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say that!" Luna apologized. "You know I've always wanted us to raise our babies together."

"Girl, boo! You know I never wanted kids and I stand by what I said. My daddy didn't give me a dime when I left his home and I don't think you should enable Lucas," I stated. "He chose to leave your home when he turned 18. Allow him to stand on his own two feet."

"And when he loses his job and needs a place to stay, whatcha gonna say then, Godmama Xee?" Luna asked.

"First of all, stop speaking so negatively about my godson. Have faith that he has a plan for his life with you and me as backup, not crutches. Second, he has you, his father, and his grandparents to choose from," I stated. "Because anyone staying more than one night over here will get a bill the next day with a reminder: No roommates wanted!"

"Wait... What?!" Luna exclaimed. "It's your job as Lucas's godmother to take care of him when I can't!"

"And what's stopping you from taking care of your child?!" I clapped back.

"Giiiiirl, I've done my job of raising him! I told him that I am the last person he should ask for help because he can't come to me until he's done everything to figure out what to do before he needs me. I have an empty nest, Chica! My time is MY time and with what's left after I paid all of my utilities, my money is tied up in this birthday cruise of yours until I go back to work! In the meantime, I'm not leaving a crumb in my house while we're gone so he can have a few groceries to learn how to feed his hungry ass while I'm gone!" Luna laughed as she started up her hooptie.

"Giiiiirl, when are you gonna get a new car?!" I busted out laughing after Luna's car backfired.

"When you turn into Oprah and tell me 'You get a new car!'" Luna cracked up. "You know that as long as Sheila gets me from Point A to Point B and back, a new car isn't a priority for me."

As I walked into my kitchen, my cell phone beeped to indicate that I had an incoming call. Looking at the caller ID, I smiled. "I feel ya girl! My other line is beeping. I'll see you soon," I explained before disconnecting from Luna to catch the new call.

"Hello?" I replied politely, pulling a bottle of pineapple-mango juice out of my refrigerator.

"Ms. Xavier?" asked a deep baritone voice.

Turned on by the vibration in my ears, I said, "This is she."

"Hello, Ms. Xavier. My name is Clarence Emerson from All-Inclusive Travel. I'm calling to see if you're still interested in the position you applied for. If so, we would love to interview you and see if you would like to join our team!"

Damn! A second job opportunity?!

Clearing my throat, I stated, "Thank you for the offer but I am considering going with another company."

"May I ask what we can do to sweeten our proposal?" Mr. Emerson inquired.

"They're starting me at $80K/year, discounted travel, medical benefits, paid holidays, and two weeks paid vacation," I answered.

"Ms. Xavier, we're prepared to offer you $100K/year, fully paid medical benefits including dental and vision, paid holidays including your birthday, free equipment replacement with 24 hour tech support, and four weeks paid vacation as well as discounted travel for you and a guest. All benefits will begin on your first day," Mr. Emerson responded.

WELL, DAMN!!

"Mr. Emerson, can I get back to you next week with my answer?" I requested. "I'm leaving for a five-day cruise, returning on Wednesday."

"We'll hold the position open until we hear from you. I hope you enjoy your trip, Ms. Xavier. Thank you for your time," Mr. Emerson said, professionally.

"You're welcome. I'll call when I return." After ending the call, I did a little happy dance.

"A higher salary plus better perks?!"

As much as I enjoyed the interaction with our customers, I had to find less physically demanding employment. As manager of a busy restaurant, I was putting more hours into my PayJob than I did for my dream career: luxury travel planner. I'm damn near 50 but my body felt like I was ready for retirement!

Just as I brought the last of my juice to my lips, my cell phone rang, emitting the familiar ringtone of...

"Cassie!" I smiled when I answered the call. The youngest of my uncle's 5 known children, Castile Prince and I were raised together like sisters.

"Sup, Xee. I'm on my way to your place. Is Luna there yet?" Castile asked, sounding reserved as usual.

"She said she had to make a stop first then she'll come over," I explained.

Sounding exasperated, Castile said, "I won't be surprised if her breath smells like dick when we see her."

"Cassie!" I laughed uproariously. "She's saying goodbye to Lucas before we leave tonight."

"Are you sure she's not stopping to see her Baby Daddy on the way?" Castile queried.

Already knowing where my cousin/best friend was headed with her line of questioning, I replied, "She said she was done fucking Derek."

"That don't mean shit. You know he got her dickmatized. One smile, a few kind words, a smack on her ass, and a kiss from him will have her saying 'What had happened was...'!" Castile cackled.

Laughing with my cousin, I watched through my living room window as Castile pulled into my driveway. She waited patiently as I pressed my clicker to open my garage for her to park her BMW. By the time I walked back into my kitchen, Castile was entering as well, both of us ending our call.

"Give her the benefit of the doubt, Cassie. True, Derek was her high school sweetheart but he truly broke her heart when she found out he got another girl pregnant when she was pregnant with Lucas," I stated.

"Oh yeah! I keep forgetting that Lucas has a ghetto twin!" Castile exclaimed, putting a hand under her chin.

Suddenly, our attention was diverted toward my front door as we were startled by repetitive knocking.

"What the hell?" Castile snapped, instantly reaching into her jacket to put her hand on her 9mm handgun.

"Stand down, Cassie. It's Luna. Lucas dropped her off, " I said, looking at the security video on my phone as I approached my living room. "Stop knocking, Lu! I'm opening the door!"

On my front porch, my best friend stood beside her luggage with red eyes, a runny nose, and tears covering her jacket. "He's... He's marry... Marrying... HER!!"

"Oh, Sis!" I frowned as I stepped onto my porch, pulling Luna toward me for a comforting hug. Castile quietly carried Luna's bags into the house before we followed her inside. "Derek told you?"

"No. Lucas did, on his way over here. He thought I knew when he said he needed to get a tux for the wedding. Derek swore him to secrecy because he said he wanted to tell me personally. That asshole is marrying that bitch next weekend!" Luna began shedding tears as she sat in the center of my sofa. "And I find out from our son?!"

"Ouch!" Castile winced, sitting on Luna's left as I filled in the available last seat.

"Luna, you should direct your anger at Derek, not his fiancee," I suggested, rubbing her back.

"And Baby Mama," Castile chimed in.

"Castile!" I snapped, causing Castile and Luna to look at me in fright. "Stop being negative! Now I have to sage my whole damn house again! I can't leave that energy in my home!"

"My bad, Lu," Castile said, gently hugging Luna with an arm around her shoulders. "You know, if you want me to, I will take care of him. Permanently."

Raising an eyebrow, I leaned forward until I made eye contact with my cousin. Castile responded with a finger to her lips to shush me. She rarely made threats to harm others, and solely for the protection of family and close friends. Considering I only saw Castile and Luna interact when the three of us were together, I didn't consider that they could have developed a deeper relationship outside of us three, but I was not surprised at my cousin's protectiveness of my best friend.

"I gave him his first son. She gave him three daughters. I was there anytime he needed me, even if it didn't involve Lucas. I was faithful to a man that was cheating on a woman that was cheating on him! I feel so stupid!" Luna sobbed heavily, throwing her head into her hands.

Knowing that my best friend was in pain, I felt helpless. Due to my transparency with my partners, I trusted that none of them would disrespect me by cheating on me and I didn't have children so I couldn't relate to Luna's situation.

"Cry it out. Scream it out. Dance it out. Do whatever you need to do to get Derek off your mind," I suggested, comfortingly. "You raised your son to be the opposite of his father. You won! Let her have him. There's a better man out there for you."

When Luna lifted her head up, Castile handed her a tissue to wipe her tears. After blowing her nose, Luna apologized. "I'm sorry, y'all. This is not how I wanted to kick off your birthday vacation, Xee."

"No worries, Lu. If nothing else, you're about to go on a cruise before the first snowfall. This time tomorrow, you'll be in the sun having fun!" I cheered.

Weakly, Luna raised her arms, shaking her hands. "Woo woo."

Castile's face went dark as she watched Luna. "I'm gonna give you a few more minutes on this pity party but I'll be damned if you're gonna bring this shit up any time on this trip. We good?"

Quietly, Luna responded, "We good."

Stunned by Luna and Castile's exchange, I shook my head to clear my mind. "Let's get the luggage into the SUV. We have about an hour and a half before the snow is scheduled to fall but the sooner we leave, the better."

© November 1, 2020-July 28, 2026 Lea Mishell. All rights reserved.